Bradley Carnell likes what he’s seen from Union newcomers Ezekiel Alladoh and Japhet Sery Larsen

Union manager Bradley Carnell did not hesitate to send new signings Ezekiel Alladoh and Japhet Sery Larsen into the fray of game action.

Just two days after the team arrived in Marbella, Spain, for its preseason camp there — which started just a week after the players reported to Chester — the duo played the first half Tuesday in a 1-1 tie with Czech club SK Sigma Olomouc.

Alladoh hadn’t seen live action since the end of the Swedish league season in November, timing that allowed the Union to move to sign him in December.

Larsen’s last game was Dec. 11 in the UEFA Europa League, and when he arrived in Chester, he spent a few days training on his own.

Game reps for a centerback are especially important for building chemistry within the defense. So it mattered that Larsen paired with Olwethu Makhanya to form the Union’s expected centerback duo. They were challenged not just by the opposition but by Carnell’s decision to start reserve team prospect Giovanny Sequera at right back and midfielder Ben Bender at left back.

Neither Alladoh nor Larsen looked out of place, which is fine at this point. The Union’s next scrimmage is Friday in Marbella against Danish club Nordsjælland at 8 a.m. Philadelphia time. (Nordsjælland will stream the game behind the paywall on its website; there’s no word yet if there will be a free option.)

» READ MORE: New Union striker Ezekiel Alladoh speaks softly but hopes to carry many goals

“I think both of them have integrated seamlessly in all sides of the game with us,” Carnell said in a news conference on Thursday. “I think we got to see Ezekiel’s qualities in the game the other day, and potential threats. I think you could see that he’s a real weapon in behind, and just his speed and power and holdup play.”

Carnell praised Larsen, a native of Denmark who, at 25, is the Union’s oldest centerback, for having “come in here and had such a calmness about him, and a real professional working manner about him, and hit the ground running. … I think he’s already establishing some form of foundational leadership capabilities here as well.”

The Union promoted reserve team striker Stas Korzeniowski to the first team this week, a reward for the former Penn striker’s good work with Union II last year and with the first team in preseason this year.

Korzeniowski scored the Union’s goal Tuesday with a well-taken finish, though his promotion was in the works before then.

“Stas has certain qualities and a skill set that we really like,” Carnell said. “And, for sure, it’s far from polished right now, but that’s the journey that he started to take now with us and having him in these environments and just around the team and playing in our way.”

» READ MORE: ‘We aren’t done:’ The Union contends there are still more additions to come as preseason begins

The Union also loaned 18-year-old centerback Neil Pierre to Lyngby of Denmark’s second division, a club in which the Union have had an investment stake for a year and a half. A move like this is a big part of why the Union did the deal, but this marks the first of a transaction of this kind on the books.

Pierre is a marquee prospect, better than the reserves’ level in MLS Next Pro but not ready physically for the top flight. Lyngby is currently atop Denmark’s second division, pushing for promotion after being relegated a season ago.

» READ MORE: Cavan Sullivan looks ahead to what should be his biggest year yet with the Union

“Closing the gap between Next Pro, MLS, and then there’s a mid-station there with Lyngby,” Carnell said. “Also going out of your comfort zone is a big one. … Very important for Neil to go and get those experiences, and I think he’ll grow as a person and as a player as well.”

It’s also notable that the loan is just through June, instead of the full year. With MLS stopping for the World Cup after Memorial Day, it really means Pierre won’t be available until the season resumes in mid-July. But perhaps he’ll get a chance in the Leagues Cup in late summer.

Malik Jakupovic, the 16-year-old striker who’s getting a lot of hype, was named Thursday to the United States squad for Concacaf’s under-17 World Cup qualifiers next month.

There’s a long history of major Union prospects showing their skills at the under-17 level. The next under-17 World Cup, which now is an annual event, will be played in Qatar in November.

» READ MORE: Bradley Carnell orchestrated the Union’s success in 2025. His second season in charge matters more.

“We’ve seen a couple of good glimpses in training here in preseason that he comes to life and you think, ‘Wow, this is amazing,’” Carnell said of Jakupovic. “And then you just get to remember, ‘Oh right, he’s just joined us for three, four days already in camp.’”

The Union’s coaching staff is well-aware of the hype and is trying to not add too much more.

“We don’t want to put any sort of crazy amounts of pressure on him,” Carnell said. “We want him to have fun, we want him to develop, we want him to learn and grow.”

Goalkeeper Matthew White also made the 21-player roster, and midfielder Willyam Ferreira was picked as an alternate.

» READ MORE: As the Union begin their preseason, the World Cup puts Danley Jean Jacques in an even bigger spotlight

MLS announced its roster rules for the year on Thursday, and they included two significant changes.

A year after finally allowing teams to sell players within the league for cash instead of allocation money (basically extra cap space), the league axed its cap of two sales per team per season.

That certainly will benefit the Union, who’ve taken full advantage in selling Jack McGlynn, Dániel Gazdag, and Tai Baribo for big sums. But it also will be welcome leaguewide because it’s a better measure of players’ market values than allocation money’s limits.

MLS also adjusted its transfer windows, the times of year when teams can buy players. The winter window will run from Jan. 26 to March 26, and the summer window will run from July 13 to Sept. 2. The latter has been shifted later in the year, bringing it in line with windows used by other big leagues worldwide.